The Road Not Taken
by Amrywiol
Summary: Jeff's folly isn't discovered and he never goes to Greendale. Or: is destiny strong enough to overcome all obstacles in the way of our favorite lovelorn idiots? (AU, Jeff is still a lawyer) Warning - the following relationships are portrayed in this story: Jeff W/Michelle S; Jeff W/Britta P; Jeff W/OC/OC; Annie E/Vaughn M; Annie E/Troy B; Annie E/Rich S; Eventual Jeff/Annie.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's note:**_ _As always, huge thanks to Jeffwik for beta reading this and making sure it makes sense! This story was originally intended to be a prologue of a longer work, but it grew so much that I decided it was worth publishing on it's own. It is instead now the first part of a series, and the longer work will form the second - it's mostly written, and I'll start publishing it shortly after this. (As always, this is Dan Harmon's sandpit not mine. I don't own anything you recognise.)_

XXXXXX

March 20th, 2009 - Jeff

Greendale Episcopalian Church

"In sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life through our Lord Jesus Christ, we commend to Almighty God our brother Alan Connor; and we commit his body to the ground; earth to earth; ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make his face to shine upon him and be gracious unto him and give him peace. Amen."

Jeff mumbled 'Amen' with everybody else as the priest finished and watched as Alan's mother, her face smeared with tears – _so somebody loved the greasy SOB then,_ he thought to himself – walked up to the grave and scattered a handful of earth on the coffin. Jeff queued up behind Ted and Mark to await his turn, pasting an appropriate expression of manly grief on his face as he dropped the earth into the grave.

As he walked away, Ted beckoned him to one side. "Terrible business," he said.

"Just awful," Jeff nodded solemnly. "To be killed by a heart attack at his age…" he shook his head, as though too broken by grief to carry on.

"Overwork they're saying," Ted said, equally sombre. "He literally gave his life to the firm."

Jeff nodded. "An example to us all." _Though whether the heart attack came before or after he went face down into a plate of Bolivia's finest export –_ Jeff knew perfectly well Ted was thinking exactly the same thing as he was, but Jeff wasn't inclined to speak ill of the dead, even on the passing of a lizard like Alan.

"I need you to do me a favour," Ted said, throwing an arm companionably across Jeff's shoulder. "I need somebody to go through Alan's papers and email records and identify everything he was currently working on and see it's reassigned."

"Of course," Jeff said.

XXXXXX

(Offices of Hamish, Hamish & Hamlin, two weeks later)

Jeff's blood ran cold. He had been finishing off the job of auditing Alan's email account and online file storage and was doing a routine check on an innocent sounding directory ("T&S Claims, FY2008"). There he had found a subdirectory containing an explosive set of correspondence between Alan and a South American based online-only degree mill called Colombia University of the Arts and Sciences – a body Jeff was intimately familiar with. His worst suspicions were realised when he read the correspondence and saw that, yes, Alan had tracked down his fake qualification and had received confirmation that Jeff had obtained his degree from there. Jeff spent the rest of the afternoon diligently deleting every last trace of the correspondence, then going through all of Alan's papers to track down and destroy all the hard copies he could find (which included a copy of Jeff's degree certificate). He didn't start to breathe again until he had gone down to the IT department and got the geeks who lived there to purge the backups as well.

XXXXXX

September 10th, 2009 - Abed

Greendale Community College

Abed Nadir looked at the piece of paper in his hands -

 _Hello,_

 _I'm interested in putting together a Spanish Study Group for people who are interested in helping each other learn and in being helped at the same time, and maybe have a bit of fun while doing so! If you are interested in joining such a group, please write your name below mine and pass the paper on._

 _Thank you very much and I hope to see you soon!_

 _Annie Edison_

Abed didn't sign the paper - somebody had already scribbled an obscene picture on it - but it did cause something to tick over in his highly analytical brain as he called up his list of goals for the perfect college experience -

 _Item 1 - bond with a group of loveable misfits._

To say he had been struggling would be an understatement - he would talk to somebody, think the conversation had gone well, only for them to back away nervously the next time he approached them - but as the piece of paper returned to the brunette girl who had started it off and Abed watched her sunny, optimistic smile crumble into pure misery it occurred to him that a study group might be the 'in' he was looking for.

Working with lightning speed, his brain calculated the perfect mixture of tropes in order to ensure the widest possible range of storylines.

 _I need an even number to maximise the number of potential couples. Four is too small, eight is too large, so six it is. The "Friends" formula of course, but sometimes the old ones work best._

He almost smiled as the perfect solution occurred to him.

 _The three faces of Adam and Eve. Father, hunter, shaman. Mother, seductress, virgin._

A swift cataloguing of the - brief, awkward - conversations he'd had over the last few days made it clear who the candidates would be.

Annie, the girl trying so hard not to cry over her failed invitation, was clearly the innocent face of Eve. Shirley, who had started talking about her children almost before Abed had got her name, was clearly the mother. Which left the worldly, knowing face of Eve. _Of course it has to be Britta,_ he thought, recalling the beautiful blonde who had been the only one in the class to treat him kindly and smile when she saw him a second time.

 _Now for Adam -_ Abed himself would be the shaman of course, no other choice was possible. For the hunter, the warrior - equally obviously it had to be the good-natured jock with the letter jacket. Abed frowned slightly when it came to the patriarch of the triumvirate - the king/father, but after narrowing the choice down to the drug dealer or the semi-retired businessman, he thought Pierce Hawthorne offered the greater opportunity for comic relief.

 _Now to recruit them._

As the class broke up, Abed walked up to the brunette who still looked so upset. "Annie," she looked up, surprised to hear her name. "Are you still interested in forming a study group?" Abed actually felt himself rock back slightly as her face suddenly lit up in an extraordinary smile.

XXXXXX

 ** _End note:_** _story has three origins. Firstly, the first story I ever published ("And Everything Goes Back To The Beginning") was a story where Annie didn't join the study group, and for a while now I've wanted to do a companion piece where it's Jeff who doesn't join. Secondly, I've wanted to do a story where Jeff stays a lawyer and thirdly when I was helping to beta read Jeffwik's story "Everything Falling Into Place" (if you haven't yet read it - do) I liked the idea of somehow postponing the first meeting between Jeff and Annie until she was out of her teens enough that I wanted to do my own take on it. This story is the result of a realisation that I could achieve all three of these goals with a single work. So..._


	2. Chapter 2

October 29th 2009 - Jeff

Mulligan's Irish Bar

"Go get her, Tango." Mark said, slapping Jeff on the back with a broad grin on his face. The two men were out celebrating another in the series of victories that was rapidly establishing them as the most dangerous team in Hamish, Hamish and Hamlin. Mark had noticed that Jeff's eyes kept slipping over to the tall, slim brunette standing by the bar.

"We're supposed to be celebrating, Cash." Jeff said reluctantly. There weren't many guys Jeff would turn down a chance at a tall, slim brunette for, but Mark was one of them.

"It's okay buddy - I promised Clara I wouldn't be out too late anyway." Mark said, naming his wife.

 _There's being loyal and there's being stupid,_ Jeff thought to himself. _And I'm not stupid._ "Thanks Mark," he grinned easily at his friend. "See you tomorrow." Jeff patted him good naturedly on the upper arm and slipped out of the booth, swaggering as he went.

"Did you know that was invented in honour of Winston Churchill's mother?" Jeff said as the brunette was served a Manhattan.

She raised an eyebrow as he handed the barman a ten and told him to keep the change, but didn't challenge him, Instead she turned to face him full on. "That's a fascinating story," she said. "But the only thing wrong with it is that it's completely false." She had an amused grin on her face as though defying him to challenge her.

Jeff grinned back at her, completely unabashed. "Oh - we may need to settle this at a restaurant..."

Her smile acquired a speculative edge as she looked him up and down. "You're cute. A little aggressive, but as a busy, confident woman of authority, I'm attracted to men who take charge."

 _Are you being sarcastic, or am I nailing it?_ Jeff thought to himself. He decided he had nothing to lose by taking her at her word and took out his phone. "Then you're going to love this-" he took out his phone and hit speed dial. "Stephen, it's Jeff Winger here -"

Barely a minute later, he hung up with a "see you in thirty," and turned back to the brunette.

"A table for two at eight has just opened at _Cornucopia_ ," he said, naming one of the most fashionable restaurants in the area and one that usually had a two-week waiting list.

Despite herself, the brunette looked impressed. "You're lucky I hadn't eaten yet," she said as she drained her glass and picked up her purse. Jeff helped himself to her wrap and draped it over her shoulders.

"So, what name does a busy, confident woman of authority go by these days?"

"Michelle. But you can call me Professor Slater for the time being."

"Please to meet you, _professor -_ Jeff Winger, Attorney at law." He mock-bowed slightly and invited her to walk with him.

XXXXXX

(Three weeks later, Hamish Hamish and Hamlin Thanksgiving Ball)

"So you're still seeing the professor?" Mark said, sounding impressed as he looked over at Michelle where she was talking to Ted and his wife. Jeff had gone to get drinks for them both and Mark had met him at the bar. "How long has it been now?"

"Three weeks," Jeff said, happy for the excuse to join Mark in looking at Michelle.

"Isn't that, oh, two weeks and six days longer than your relationships usually last?" Mark said with a grin on his face.

"What can I say?" Jeff grinned back at him. "She challenges me."

"I'll bet," Mark said. "Hot _and_ smart. That never used to be your thing."

"I'm growing as a human being," Jeff was still grinning. "Oh, thanks -" the barman had returned with Jeff's order of a neat Scotch and a glass of dry white wine.

"Sorry Cash, but -" Jeff shrugged apologetically.

"Go to her, Tango." Mark smiled indulgently back at him.

XXXXXX

(Last day of fall semester, Greendale Community College)

" _I did arm candy duty at one of your parties, it's time you did it at one of mine. At least with you on my arm the creeps in Modern Languages may leave me alone…_ "

Michelle's words from three days earlier - coupled with certain threats he had no doubt at all she was capable of carrying out - had finally broken his resistance to attending one of the ridiculous number of events her college ran.

 _It does have its compensations though._ Jeff thought with an inward smile as he strode confidently across the campus in his sharpest suit soaking up the admiring stares of assorted co-eds. _Soak it up, girls - this is what a real alpha male looks like…_

He made his way to the Maths department slightly late, courtesy of confusing directions provided by a twitching young man who appeared to be on the verge of a nervous breakdown, where Michelle shimmied sideways with a smile when he attempted to pin her to her desk. She walked out with a sway in her hips leaving Jeff scrambling to catch up.

"So, what's this party I can't get out of?" Jeff said as they approached the cafeteria - he'd assumed it was some sort of Christmas function, but the banner over the door saying _MERRY HAPPY!_ Combined with the complete absence of a tree or any other seasonal decorations had thrown him somewhat.

"Non-denominational, all-inclusive end of semester staff-student mixer," Michelle's voice had a long suffering tone to it, reminding Jeff of her many rants about her impossible dean.

"We'll stay an hour and-" She was suddenly interrupted by an outraged cry.

" _Screw you guys! I don't need this study group anyway!"_ An elderly man was storming out of the cafeteria with a face like thunder, Jeff however found his attention drawn elsewhere.

" _Pierce, wait!"_ This voice belonged to a tiny, strikingly pretty brunette who Jeff suddenly found himself staring at. She had lustrous black hair that made Jeff wonder what product she used, a cute green cardigan, short skirt and flats - _you can't win them all,_ he thought wryly as he watched a motherly African-American woman catch up with her, say something then hold onto the brunette while she cried her eyes out.

"She's only eighteen." Michelle's voice had acquired a dangerous tone - she'd seen where Jeff was looking.

 _Whoa - talk about a narrow escape!_ Jeff thought to himself with a slight shudder as he forced himself to concentrate on his girlfriend.

"I've no idea what you're talking about," he said blandly. "I was too busy thinking about the fact I'm about to walk into a room full of people with the hottest girl around on my arm."

"Liar," she said, a faint smile on her face as she hooked her arm through his.

XXXXXXX

December 14th 2009 - Britta

Voyager Coffee Shop, Amsterdam

It had taken Britta almost three days to get to Amsterdam using the cheapest possible combination of routes, and she'd wasted no time once she'd got there - walking straight out of the central station and into the first "coffee bar" she'd seen with the familiar six-fingered leaf displayed in the window.

She slipped into a corner seat - already feeling a slight buzz from the fug in the air - and sighed happily as she lit up what was going to be the first of many spliffs. After a few minutes (at least she thought it was a few minutes) she spotted a nervous looking British tourist, threw him a brilliant smile and asked if she could borrow his laptop to check her e-mail. It took her barely two minutes to realise it hadn't been worth the effort - one from Shirley inviting everybody to her church's carol concert, one from Abed asking if anybody had seen Slater's mystery boyfriend who had allegedly put in an appearance at the dean's mixer as he wanted to cast the part in his web show, and one from Annie begging everyone to give Pierce another chance. Britta shuddered as she remembered an embrace that had fast turned inappropriate and had ended with a slap to get him to let go and Pierce triumphantly proclaiming to all and sundry that she must be a lesbian to respond to a real man like that. It had been the last straw, and she had no intention of letting him back. Oh and there was one from her mother, but Britta didn't open that.

She smiled once again at the British guy and accepted his invitation to meet up that evening while simultaneously plotting to give the proposed venue a wide berth.

 _I love Amsterdam,_ she thought, inhaling another huge drag.


	3. Chapter 3

March 11th 2010 - Jeff

Hamish, Hamish and Hamlin offices

Mark did a double take as he walked past the open door to the restroom. The sight of Jeff Winger talking to a pretty girl was hardly unusual, but the sight of him standing so close as to be almost touching while she smiled and blushed at being the focus of his attention was something that had not been seen since he started seeing Michelle.

"Jeff, can you spare a moment?" Mark was frowning slightly as he called the other man over.

Jeff turned to see who had hailed him, then turned back to the girl and smiled ruefully. "Duty calls," he said as he raised one hand to softly stroke the underside of the girl's chin. "I'll see you tonight, babe." And with a wink he turned and strode over to Mark.

"What's going on, Jeff? I thought you were serious about the professor!"

Jeff's eyes turned glassy and his grin slipped slightly before returning with full force. "Not any more - she sent me a text this morning saying it had been fun but it was over."

"Damn, buddy." Mark said with sudden sympathy.

Jeff companionably slapped his friend's shoulder. "I'm fine, Cash. I'm just glad I didn't have to do the dumping."

Mark looked puzzled.

"I mean," Jeff continued, "then I'd have to lay low for three weeks to look sensitive and to avoid questions of overlap. But as the dumpee-" he grinned again "-I can start making out with every girl in town right now and all anyone will feel for me is sympathy. Chicks love grief, it makes them feel they're doing good by sleeping with me."

Before he could say anything in response, Mark was interrupted by a new arrival - a striking blonde paralegal who had joined the firm about six months ago and was working in Corporate Law.

"Oh Jeff!" The new arrival said, completely ignoring Mark. "I heard the news - I'm so sorry!"

Jeff's expression shifted instantaneously from smug to that of a strong man bearing a heavy burden. "What can I say, Cordelia? It came out of nowhere -" he said, taking hold of her hand as though it was a rope being thrown to a drowning man.

Mark shook his head and smiled as he walked away. _The Bootynator's back..._

XXXXXX

September 1st 2010 - Annie

Georgetown Community College, Delaware

Annie really hoped she hadn't made a terrible mistake. She'd been at GCC – she remembered, somewhat bitterly, when she thought the acronym was a good omen – for almost a month now and it was the third night in a row she'd been studying on her own while Vaughn was at hackeysack practice. ("I'm on a scholarship Mountain Flower," he'd said when Annie had tried to complain about how little time they were having together. "I have to put the hours in.") Her phone vibrated suddenly – she dived to catch the message, then bitterly threw the phone onto her bed when she read the message from Vaughn saying his drum circle had booked a yurt in the Poconos mountains for the following weekend and he would be gone from Friday afternoon until Monday morning.

She turned back to her laptop and opened her email account and started typing a message in response to one she'd received earlier that day.

 _ **To: Troy, Abed**_

 _ **Hi Guys! Having an amazing time here – the college is great and the teachers really professional. I've been asked to join the debate club and I'm thinking of trying again to join the cheerleading squad, but I'm just so busy! I still have time to miss you guys though!:-) !**_

 _ **Love, Anniexxx**_

Not wishing to let go of happy memories just yet, Annie opened the email she'd received from Shirley a couple of days previously and started to compose a reply to that too. _Britta's overdue a message as well,_ she thought, a smile back on her face as she thought of Greendale.


	4. Chapter 4

December 9th, 2010 - Jeff

Denver County Court

"…Not Guilty!"

The court erupted in shock as the forewoman of the jury read out the last in a clean slate of acquittals. Jeff turned to shake the hand of his equally shocked client, who until five minutes ago had been expecting to go to prison for up to ten years on multiple counts of hacking into the records of many of the most respected academic institutions in the country.

"Jeff, that was awesome!" Dwight Lee's – Jeff's client's – voice was full of awe. "I thought I was going down for sure, but that speech was amazing! How did you do it?"

"You have no idea, buddy." Jeff allowed himself the smallest of glances at the forewoman, accompanying it with the briefest of smiles and nods. She smiled back and blushed slightly. Jeff already knew how the next week or so would go – he would "accidentally" run into her in a bar in two days time, then regretfully say that although it would have been amazing they couldn't risk trying for anything longer lasting because of how it would look if it came out – people would be bound to speculate Jeff had only won his case because she'd wanted to sleep with him and he respected her too much to do that to her. No, it would be best if she went back to her husband having learnt a few things about herself and what she deserved.

"If there's anything I can do for you, Jeff - anything at all…" his client was talking again.

Jeff threw a friendly arm across his shoulder. "Actually Dwight, there is," he grinned suddenly. "Let's talk somewhere more private."

Two months later, after Dwight had hacked his way into their records and created a quite fictitious academic career for him at that august institution, Jeff was the proud possessor of an absolutely genuine certificate showing he had received an Honours degree in Fine Arts from Columbia University, the one in America. For the first time since Alan's death he felt able to relax completely, knowing that particular gap in his life story had been closed.

XXXXXX

February 13th, 2011 - Annie

Vaughn and Annie's apartment,

 _At least I'll get to spend the evening with Vaughn,_ Annie sighed as she let herself in. She'd told him she'd be pulling an all nighter with her statistics study group, only for them to go silent for a moment when she suggested it. "We're really sorry Annie, but you're just too intense for us – we like to study, but we like to relax and have fun too," Julia had said when she'd told Annie the study group had voted and agreed they didn't want her to study with them any more. It was the third group since she'd arrived at Georgetown to give her that message.

She was about to call out Vaughn's name, but froze when she heard giggling. Instead she crept towards the bedroom and eased the door open. _Hackeysack groupies,_ she thought with numb shock as she saw Vaughn sitting between two young women, all three naked and sharing a joint.

"Hiya mountain flower, do you want to join us?"

Half an hour of screaming later and Annie was single, and sole occupant of an apartment in which no trace of Vaughn Miller remained, his meagre possessions forming an untidy heap on the lawn two storeys below the apartment's main window.


	5. Chapter 5

May 30th, 2011 - Troy, Annie, Abed

Greyhound Bus Terminal, Denver

 _Wow! Annie's really grown up!_ Troy thought as a familiar petite, dark haired figure emerged out of the crowd. Annie's hair was loose and carefree and she was wearing jeans that hugged her hips and a t-shirt that hugged… other places. His face broke out into a delighted grin. "There she is," he said as Annie responded with a huge smile and she dropped her bags as she ran towards them. She got less than half way before Troy caught up to her and swept her off her feet.

"Great to see you Annie - when did you get so hot?" Troy was still grinning as he put her down.

" _Troy!"_ Annie was blushing furiously but still had a delighted smile on her face at Troy's greeting. "It's great to see you too," she said softly. "Thanks for meeting me, guys." She added more loudly as Abed caught up and she hugged the two of them in turn. After dumping Vaughn she had made a series of decisions, all of which pointed to one conclusion - it was time to return to Greendale, where not only were courses only two-thirds the cost of the ones at Georgetown, but she still had closer friends than any she'd made in Delaware. "What about -" she looked around uncertainly.

"Shirley couldn't get a babysitter," Abed said. "And Britta couldn't get time off work, but they'll be coming around for lunch tomorrow. You are staying at our place, of course."

"Thanks guys," Annie repeated, her face melting again. As they left, Annie with her arms linked through one each of Troy and Abed's and the boys each carrying one of her bags in their free hands, she babbled happily about her new life plan - she was going to restructure her degree so it no longer focussed on health care administration but would focus on nonprofits more generally so she could go into charitable work full time, and that she had enough credits already that she should finish in another three years…

XXXXXX

July 29th, 2011 (early) - Jeff

Jeff Winger's apartment

Jeff woke up feeling particularly pleased with himself. He'd won a big case yesterday and gone to L Street to celebrate, and had rounded off an outstanding day by taking home a smoking hot blonde who had insulted him all the way to his condo and who had been every bit as forward, opinionated and stubbornly self-righteous in bed as she had been in conversation. He rolled over and allowed himself a moment to admire her naked body before placing a kiss on her temple, then another as his hand slid round her side to caress her breast. She moaned softly, then turned round and slowly, easily pressed her mouth to his, grinding against him as the kiss built in intensity.

All of a sudden, she stopped and pulled away. "Before we go any further," she said. "I want you to answer one question."

Jeff was thrown slightly by the interruption, but was willing to be obliging if that's what it took. "Sure babe, what is it?" he smirked.

"What's my name?" the blonde was staring at him in a way that was no longer seductive, but challenging instead.

"Don't you know?" Jeff said, buying time as he desperately ransacked his memory and realising he had no recollection whatsoever of it ever coming up.

"I'm asking the questions, douchebag." She said bluntly.

 _For somebody whose naked and in my bed she sure has an attitude,_ Jeff thought with some irritation. He decided to meet her attitude with some of his own.

"I've not the faintest idea, I'm not sure it ever came up."

The blonde nodded slightly as though he'd passed some sort of test. "It's Britta," she said.

"Britta what?"

"Just Britta for now," her smile had changed back to the seductive one she'd worn before she kissed him. Taking this as a good omen, Jeff leant forward to kiss her again. She stopped him by putting a finger to his lips.

"Aren't you going to tell me your name, or will douchebag do?"

He sat up, and with mock formality offered her his hand, she took it. "Allow me to introduce myself - I'm Jeff, it's good to meet you Britta."

"Pleased to meet you too, Jeff. _Now_ you can kiss me," she said, and he did.

Unlike most girls who stayed the night at Jeff's, Britta did not go home the next morning. In fact she stayed the rest of the weekend, most of it in bed while Jeff ordered take out for when they needed to eat. They swapped numbers but she didn't speak to him once during the week, and Jeff started to think it was an enjoyable one-off until on Friday night just after midnight he received a text message consisting of just an address.

"You realise you're everything I despise about the corrupt, patriarchal establishment, right?" Britta said when she opened the door to her apartment.

"And you're everything I find ridiculous about self righteous, posturing do-gooders." Jeff said as he stepped through.

"So long as we understand each other," she said as he pulled her in for a kiss.

This time, it was Britta who woke up first the following morning. "It's Perry, by the way." She said when he opened his eyes.

"What is?"

"My name, Britta Perry."

"Pleased to meet you, Britta Perry - I'm Jeff Winger." He said as he rolled over, pinning her beneath him before closing in for another kiss.

Britta wasn't a casual, one night stand. It was unusual for Jeff to sleep with a girl more than two or three times before getting bored and moving on, but he and Britta slept together most weekends for several months until the sex got routine and familiar, when they stopped. Even after that they kept seeing each other as friends once or twice a month without feeling any urge to sleep together again.

"You remind me of how lucky I am," he said.

"You're my guilty secret," she said.


	6. Chapter 6

September 30th 2011 - Annie

Apartment 303,

"Are you sure Abed's going to be gone all weekend?" Annie said.

Troy nodded. "The Kickpuncher convention doesn't finish until Sunday."

"What did he say when you said you couldn't go?" Annie had moved a couple of paces closer.

"He understood - I told him I'm struggling to keep my GPA up and I couldn't afford to miss the deadline on this project." They were now almost touching.

"And have you finished the project?" Annie's eyes were shining.

"Actually, I'm just starting," Troy grinned as he pulled her towards him. The kiss was intense, only broken by the need to tear at each other's clothes. That first time, they didn't even make it to Annie's bed.

That night she was awake long after Troy, lying in bed looking slightly awestruck at the hard planes of his naked body and remembering the sheer stamina of the man. _Teenage me would never have thought this was possible,_ Annie thought as she remembered the high school outcast with the hopeless crush on the football star and how different she was to the young woman who had spent weeks dancing around Troy's growing desire for her until the opportunity of Abed's absence presented itself. _But it's different now, we're friends._

When Abed came back, he took one look around the apartment and said "You two have been having sex," before going catatonic with a look of utter betrayal on his face. It was only as she watched as Troy had rushed over to console his friend and pouring out apologies as he went that Annie realised there was a difference between friends and lovers. It was never the same after that, and a month later Annie took Troy to Senor Kevin's.

"I'm glad we got it out of our systems, but I really think we are better just as friends," she said.

Troy tried to look upset for her sake - he was kind like that - but he was mostly relieved. "It was good though, wasn't it?" He said with a shy smile.

"It was the best, Troy." Annie beamed back at him.

Apart from a few sideways glances - whenever Troy lifted something, Annie couldn't help but remember she knew _exactly_ how powerful his muscles were, and when she bent over to pick up something, he would look at her like a man who knew what her ass looked like without a skirt in the way - things went back to normal in Apartment 303.

XXXXXX

July 10th 2012 - Jeff

Hawthorne Manor

Jeff stepped out of his Lexus and smoothed down his suit as he looked around and sighed, remembering the conversation he'd had the day before. _Pierce Hawthorne is a crazy old fool,_ he remembered Ted saying, _but he's one of this firm's best clients and he's asked for a lawyer to be present at the reading of his father's will. Keep him happy and you'll be another step closer to making partner._

Jeff kept the thought of the partnership front and centre as he knocked on the door of the house.

"Yes?" A serious looking African American gentleman had answered the door.

"I'm here to see Mr Hawthorne," Jeff said. "Jeff Winger from Hamish, Hamish and Hamlin." He held out a hand.

"Do come in," the other man flashed a wholly insincere smile as he shook it. "My name is Gilbert Lawson and I'm the executor of Mr Hawthorne Senior's will. I'll show you to where Mr Hawthorne Junior is waiting."

Jeff was shown to a room where Pierce Hawthorne was waiting with a slightly confused looking man who appeared to be of Italian extraction and four rather trashily dressed young women.

"Who are you?" Hawthorne said grumpily. Jeff repeated his introduction, the other man grumbled bad-temperedly.

"Pierce, are these people really your closest friends?" Lawson said superciliously.

"You asked me to bring seven people, Six is close enough. It's up to me how I picked them." Pierce sounded angry. "My lawyer-" pointing at Jeff, "My barber-" pointing at the Italian. "And Trixie, Pixie, Moxie and Roxie, my favorite lady friends."

Jeff drifted over to the girls, who were obviously escorts. That wasn't a problem for him - Jeff had no problems with escorts although he had never needed to avail himself of their professional services (though several had availed themselves of his over the years), they had an approach to life that was as pragmatic and cynical as any lawyer's and he usually enjoyed their company.

"I'm not his lawyer, I work for the law firm that represents him," he whispered to Roxie.

She looked at him with significantly more than professional interest. "You don't need to explain it to me," she said. "We're both here to screw the old guy out of his money, but at least you'll get to keep your clothes on." Jeff grinned while Roxie rolled her eyes.

"If I may have your attention, please." Gilbert said in a loud voice before reading out the terms of the will.

Jeff listened in growing disbelief. "What the heck is this?" He said as they were led down to a bank of video game booths.


	7. Chapter 7

July 17th, 2012 - Jeff, Britta

The Pump House, Greendale

"Britta, are we friends?"Jeff had invited her to a new bar that had opened downtown – all glass, stainless steel and imported beers.

"Hell no," she said, but the smile she said it with provided the real answer.

"Thanks," she said as Jeff slid over a vodka as she sat down. "You're just a guy who buys me drinks and doesn't even expect to sleep with me anymore."

When he failed to produce a snarky comeback, Britta looked at him with sudden concern. "What's the matter Jeff?"

He sighed slightly. "A few days ago I was at the reading of the will of a client's father. He had been instructed to bring seven of his closest friends along, but the only people that turned up were me, his barber and four hookers. And I was only there because he asked for a lawyer."

"That only makes six." Britta said.

"Yeah. He couldn't even find an extra person to spend time with him for money." He took a sip from his drink. "And then I found myself thinking if I was in his position would I be able to do any better?"

 _Ah,_ Britta thought to herself. "Is this your way of saying I'm one of your closest friends?" She asked.

"Pathetic, isn't it?" He grinned sourly. "There are dozens of people I work with and clients who are happy to be friends now, but if I'd been kicked out on the street maybe two of them wouldn't have forgotten my name by the time I bounced for the second time - and one of them was eaten by a shark last week."

" _What?_ " Britta could barely believe her ears.

"Ted Hamlin, the guy who recruited me." Jeff was staring sadly into his Scotch. "He was on a scuba diving holiday in Hawaii and mistook a Great White for a dolphin, or something."

"That's…" Britta was rendered temporarily speechless. Instead, she paused for breath and went back a step in the conversation.

"I'd remember your name if you got kicked out on the street," She grinned at him. "Heck, you'd probably let me buy you a drink occasionally." She added, referring to an argument from the early days of their friendship – Jeff pointing out it was absurd for her to buy as many rounds as he did when he was probably earning more in a week than she was in a year, versus her refusal to be dependent on a man for anything.

("You can't afford the stuff I like to drink, and I can't drink the stuff you can afford," had been his final, winning, argument.

"Pretentious Jag," had been her concession speech.)

Jeff raised his glass in an ironic salute. "What about you?"

Britta looked sadly into her own glass. "Maybe four," she said.

Jeff looked across at her. "Annie, Troy, Abed and Shirley?" Britta had only shared her friend's first names with Jeff and had never introduced him to them, she was completely unapologetic about keeping the various sides of her life separate.

"Five now I think about it," she smiled. Jeff smiled back at her.

XXXXXX

September 14th 2012 - Britta, Annie

Greendale Community College

"Annie, can we talk?" Britta was looking nervous.

"Of course we can - what's worrying you, Britta?" Annie looked concerned for her friend.

"It's-" Britta hesitated for a moment, gathering her courage. "It's Troy. He's asked me out, and part of me wants to say yes, but I know you guys had that thing last year and are still living together-"

Annie was actually relieved. "It's okay Britta – Troy and I had some things we needed to work through, and we had fun doing so – a _lot_ of fun-" Annie's voice went dreamy and distant "-but we really are just friends now." She went thoughtful for a moment. "I think we were then too, we just needed to try something else to be sure."

"So, you're really okay with us doing this?" Britta was smiling shyly now.

Annie frown suddenly as she remembered something. "What about Booty Call Guy? Aren't you still seeing him?"

Britta shook her head emphatically. "We still run into each other in bars occasionally and share a drink and a laugh when we do, but we haven't been 'together'-" Britta made an air quote gesture "-together since last year. Now we're in a similar place to you and Troy," she added to drag the conversation back to where she wanted it.

"In that case-" Annie beamed fondly at her. "I can't object to you going on a date with a guy as nice as Troy. Especially since I moved to Delaware for a year with your ex." Annie's smile slipped slightly at the mention of Vaughn, but she picked herself up again through a conscious act of will as she dropped her voice to a near whisper. "I will say one thing though," Annie looked around to make sure nobody was watching, her face had turned bright red. "Limber up first, you won't regret it."

Britta was puzzled for a moment, then her jaw dropped in pure shock at how brazen her friend had just been. " _Annie!"_

Britta visibly gathered her thoughts. "You really are taking this exceptionally well. Much better than I did," she added ruefully, thinking back to the bitter argument followed by several days of frosty silence and a tearful reconciliation when Annie had started dating Vaughn.

Annie's face lit up with excited happiness. "Can you keep a secret, Britta?" She whispered, before carrying on without giving her friend a chance to reply. "I may have met someone!"

"Annie, this is huge! Who is it?" _And why haven't I heard of this before?_

"His name's Clint, he's a geophysicist and he's _gorgeous!_ And smart," she added, almost as an afterthought. "He's sweet and funny and he seems to really like me-"

Britta was honestly delighted for her friend. "When are we going to meet this paragon?"

Annie's face fell slightly. "Erm, well - _I_ haven't actually met him yet," she mumbled.

"Then how-" Britta had shifted from delighted to bemused.

"I posted a question on an online bulletin board about my meteorology homework, and he answered. We got chatting, and-" Annie was beaming again.

"Unfortunately he's only just started a one year posting at the Amundsen-Scott Station-"

"He's at the _South Pole?_ " Britta could barely contain her laughter.

"But we're already planning to meet up when he gets back next year!" Annie added defiantly.

(Apartment 303, the next morning)

Despite having been up late the night before emailing with Clint, Annie was first up and was humming happily to herself as she beat the pancake batter she had mixed up.

"Good morning Annie, are you making breakfast?" Abed had just joined her.

"Pancakes, is that okay?"

Abed nodded slightly. "That's fine, you make nice pancakes."

Annie beamed back at him.


	8. Chapter 8

October 26th, 2012 - Jeff

 _Les Nuits de Paris_ restaurant.

Jeff was barely able to sit still with impatience. Mark had invited him to dinner to discuss something important, but had spent the entire evening talking about trivia. Finally, as the dessert plates were cleaned away, Mark leaned back in his seat and raised the (eye-wateringly expensive) cognac he had ordered as a digestif to his nose. He sniffed, took a sip and nodded slightly.

"Ted was a great man," he said at last.

 _Finally,_ Jeff thought to himself as he sensed the real point of this evening had arrived. He adopted a sober expression and nodded. "A terrible loss," he said - it helped that he was actually sincere about this, Ted's death three months earlier had indeed been a shock. He had his suspicions about why Mark was bringing it up now, however.

Mark nodded in agreement. "Here's the thing Jeff - Hamish, Hamish and Hamlin is adrift without him. It's got six months, maybe a year left. Tops."

Jeff stiffened with shock. There had been rumours of course but this was the first time anybody as senior as Mark had confirmed them.

"Anybody with any sense is looking for a lifeboat - I've been planning to start my own firm for a while now and I'm ready to go. And I want you with me - I can offer you full partner status, a corner office, up to three secretaries and a six figure salary. What do you say, Tango? Do you want a seat in my lifeboat or do you want to ride the ship onto the rocks?"

Jeff was stunned. "I'll give it some thought."

Mark wasn't having it. He leant over the table. "Just shake my hand, idiot. It's simple."

Jeff grinned suddenly. "I want to be a named partner - 'Winger and Petrocelli' has a nice ring to it."

"'Petrocelli and Winger," Mark said, still offering Jeff his hand.

Jeff nodded. "I like simple - it's a deal," he said exultantly as he took his friend's hand.

XXXXXX

February 14th 2013 - Annie

Apartment 303

"Aargh – men!" Annie cried in disgust, slamming the door behind her as she entered the apartment. She kicked her heels off, sending them flying halfway across the apartment, before storming off to her bedroom unzipping her dress as she went.

"Your date didn't go well." Abed said when she re-emerged in sweatpants and a Greendale hoodie. It wasn't a question.

Annie glared at him, he was completely unfazed. She sighed instead. "I thought tonight would be the night, you know?"

"I think we all gathered that from the outfit," Abed said.

Annie had met Rich Stephenson on New Year's Day when she and Abed had gone to Greendale General to collect Britta and Troy who had had an extremely embarrassing accident in the New Year's Eve festivities. The attending physician had been handsome, charming, polite to a fault and with a sunny disposition that hadn't been dented by being on duty throughout the night on New Year's. Annie had liked him - a lot - but the thought of Clint alone at the South Pole on New Year's Day made her feel a little guilty about this so she hadn't pursued things further.

Then, a couple of days later, she'd got a message from Clint saying he'd been doing some thinking, and decided it wasn't fair to ask Annie to wait for him. He'd volunteered for an overland expedition to take readings at several outlying stations and would be out of contact for at least a month, maybe longer. They should take this time 'apart' and reconsider the whole long-distance thing, he said.

Annie had been pretty upset at first, but when Abed had mentioned the handsome doctor had given Troy his phone number in the event of any complications developing with his injuries she'd resolved to get right back on that horse and call him. It had taken a bit of persuading, but she eventually secured a promise to meet for coffee. They'd had half a dozen dates since and barely reached second base despite Annie's increasingly unsubtle hints.

When he'd ask her to meet him for Valentine's Day however, she'd been convinced he was ready to go to the next level and to seal the deal she'd worn the shortest, tightest dress and most uncomfortable shoes she owned – Britta had had to smack Troy across the chest to stop him staring before dragging him out on their Valentine's date.

"I got there ten minutes early," she sighed. "Thanks, Abed-" he'd passed her the popcorn bucket he was holding. "And caught him kissing his receptionist."

"Oh."

"His receptionist's a man, Abed!"

" _Oh!_ " Abed's eyes opened wide with shock.

"I've wasted almost two months on a guy who was in complete denial about himself!" She cried out.

"At least you know it was his fault, not yours."

"Thanks Abed," Annie smiled softly at him.

"I just want you to be clear about one thing, Annie."

She raised a questioning eyebrow while stuffing popcorn into her mouth.

"I won't be having sex with you."

Annie suddenly coughed the popcorn out again. " _Whaaa-"_

"The girl who has a disastrous Valentine's date and is consoled by her platonic male friend before realising he was the one she loved all along and they end up sleeping together is a terrible cliché and one I want no part of." Abed's voice was as bland as if he was reading a weather forecast. "Our trope is Platonic Life Partners, not Friends into Lovers. We have zero UST, Annie."

"Gee, thanks Abed." She rolled her eyes at him. "Popcorn?" She offered the bucket back to him as he sat down. "So, what's this film?" she said, curling into her friend's side and dipping her hand back into the bucket.

XXXXXX

(Later that night)

Annie had showered and got ready for bed, but she wasn't feeling tired just yet so she decided to check her email before going to sleep. She opened her account and gasped as she saw the name 'Clint duesouth' at the top of her inbox. With slightly trembling fingers, she clicked to open the message -

 _Dear Annie,_

 _Valentine's Day is a day that makes us think about the people we care about, and I've spent it thinking about you. If you've moved on I'll understand, but are you willing to give this thing we have another try?_

 _Love(?)_

 _Clint_

Annie squeaked with excitement as she grabbed her favorite doll. "Ruthie - he's back!"


	9. Chapter 9

March 7th 2013 - Jeff

Hawthorne Manor

Jeff was still numb with shock as the reading ended. Pierce had shut him out from the drafting of his will so he'd had no idea why he'd been invited to the reading of it – along with the girls he'd met at the reading of Cornelius Hawthorne's will and Silvio the barber – until the executor had read out "and to my close personal friend Jeffrey Winger I leave the sum of half a million dollars."

Jeff had been Hawthorne's lawyer since Hawthorne Wipes had fired him in the aftermath of his father's death and he'd decided to sue them, Jeff had persuaded him to come across to Petrocelli & Winger by appealing to the old man's vanity in that his case would be personally handled by a named partner if he moved. They'd met twice a week to discuss strategy, though Hawthorne had usually been more interested in telling ludicrous and improbable stories about his life, such as the celebrities he'd allegedly slept with, or ranting about his large and growing enemies list (for some reason he had a special place in his bitter little heart for his old community college and a study group that had heartlessly ejected him after a semester due to their jealousy of his wise and inspirational leadership).

Jeff hadn't minded – for three hundred bucks an hour and a creatively padded expense account he'd listen to Hawthorne read the phone book as though it was the wisdom of the ages – but he found himself feeling a sudden twinge of pity at how lonely the old man must have been if that counted as one of the closest relationships in his life (though not the closest, the four escorts had got the same again each and Silvio the barber – who was the only one there who looked genuinely upset – got twice as much). _Still, look on the bright side – I can get that Ferrari now…_

"Mr Winger, can we have a word?" Jeff was jolted out of his reverie by the appearance in front of him of two of the escorts.

He smiled suddenly. "Roxie, isn't it? And Trixie?"

"Helen and Sarah actually," 'Roxie' said. "We're going to use Mr Hawthorne's money to get out of this business and do something we don't have to lie to our families about. Sarah has wanted to open a flower shop for a while now, and I'm going to go into business with her-"

"-and we think we'll need a lawyer." Trixie – Sarah – continued. "And Mr Hawthorne seemed to trust you, so we were hoping you'd help us."

Jeff thought for a moment and fished out a pair of business cards. "Mr Hawthorne was a valued client of ours, and we would be honoured to help out his legatees. Call my secretary and set up an appointment."

"Thanks, Mr Winger." Helen smiled with relief.

"Call me Jeff," he grinned back.

(Six weeks later)

 _Sometimes my life is absolutely amazing,_ Jeff thought as he laid back in bed glowing with exertion, a broad grin on his face.

"We said we'd show you how grateful we were, didn't we?" A completely naked Helen crawled sinuously up Jeff's equally bare body before bringing her mouth onto his for a soft, unhurried kiss.

"Hey, don't forget about me!" Sarah said, a pout in her voice as she pulled her friend's head away and took her turn kissing him. The girls had achieved their target of opening their flower shop by the start of May and Jeff had taken them out to dinner the night before to celebrate. When he had settled the bill they had looked at each other, smiled softly and said the party didn't have to end there, Jeff hadn't needed telling twice.

"Aaaaarhhh…" he hummed while he concentrated on kissing Sarah as Helen worked her way down his body.

XXXXXX

April 25th 2013 - Annie

Group Study Room F

 _Smack!_ Annie slammed her books down on the table and threw herself into her seat. Her friends stopped what they were doing and went quiet as they recognised the signs of an imminent eruption.

"Annie dear, what's the matter?" Shirley said in her best Mom voice.

"Some jerk's been catfishing me!" She screeched.

"What's-" Shirley started to speak, Abed interrupted before she could finish.

"It's when somebody invents a fake personality on the internet to lure somebody into an online relationship. Why would you think that, Annie?" He asked in his usual dispassionate tone of voice.

Annie looked almost grateful for the distraction. "When Clint and I first started corresponding he said he was an all-American boy, born on the 4th of July."

Abed's eyes widened slightly as he focussed on what she was saying. Annie was too wrapped up in her story to notice. "I wanted to send him a birthday card and a nice-" she blushed slightly at this "-picture of me as a present, so I emailed the press office at the US Antarctic Program for a postal address." She paused for breath.

"What happened then?" Britta said curiously.

"They said nobody called Clint Hightower worked for them!" Annie squealed. "So I googled some of his messages about life in the Antarctic and found they'd been cut and pasted from the blogs of three different scientists and the diary of Captain Scott!" Annie's rage spiralled down into sadness. "Men really can be jerks at times."

"Most of the time," Britta added sympathetically. Troy shifted uncomfortably as she spoke.

"I bared my soul to him - I told him about my holding hands in Disneyland fantasy!" Annie sounded on the verge of tears, Shirley reached over to pat her sympathetically on the shoulder.

"There there, sweetie. You'll meet somebody nice, I promise."

Annie smiled shakily at her.

"Does this mean you won't be making pancakes for breakfast any more?" For some reason Troy was looking at Abed, whose face was impassive.

" _Troy!"_ Britta squealed. "Inappropriate, much?"

"I think we should start studying, finals aren't far away." Abed said.


	10. Chapter 10

August 28th, 2013 - Jeff, Annie

Offices of Petrocelli & Winger

"Did you hear about that bridge that collapsed upstate?" Mark said.

"Terrible business, luckily nobody got killed." Jeff replied.

"The engineer, a guy called Marvin Humphries, is being sued of course, and in turn he's suing the college that was stupid enough to give him a degree saying it's their fault for not educating him properly."

Jeff nodded. "And where do we come in?"

"He got his degree from a local school, Greendale Community College. They've engaged us to represent them and I think you should go down there in the morning for a preliminary meeting, after all you do have some history there," Mark added dryly.

Jeff shuddered slightly at being reminded of Michelle Slater.

"I'll put the fear of God into them and convince them only we can save them," Jeff said with a grin as he got up.

XXXXXX

Greendale Community College, the next day.

 _Geez - still a dump,_ Jeff thought as he recalled his previous visit. Instead, he forced his mind to focus on the present as he strolled down a corridor towards the library with the creepy little man who called himself the dean of this place scurrying to stay ahead. His initial meeting had gone according to plan – Jeff had described the situation in the most brutal of terms, putting the fear of God into the man before carefully starting to dole out some measure of hope. The creature had been so pathetically eager to please by the end that he had offered to take Jeff on a tour of the campus, ending up at the library where a war room – the dean's words – had been set up to coordinate the college's response.

"Ah, here we are." The dean said. Jeff read the sign on the door – 'Group Study Room F' - there was only one person in it at the moment.

XXXXXX

Annie was feeling incredibly harassed. A week ago, the dean had asked her to be a student representative on the newly formed Student-Faculty Liaison Committee and, feeling enormously flattered, she had accepted only to be told it was the committee's first job to investigate the truth behind Humphries' allegations. She'd been drowning in incompetently filed paperwork ever since.

"Annie?"

"What is it, dean?" She snapped, turning around. "Oh…" she said as she found herself facing possibly the handsomest man she'd ever seen, a good foot taller than her and wearing an impeccable suit. She nervously smoothed her skirt and flicked her hair over her shoulder. She couldn't prevent a smile spreading over her face as she kept looking at the stranger.

"Jeff, this is Ms. Edison, she's the student chair of the Liaison committee and will be helping us on this case. Annie - this is Mr Winger of Petrocelli and Winger, he'll be representing us." The dean made the introductions.

Annie kept smiling as she extended a hand towards the stranger, and their eyes locked on each other – on the other hand he looked like he'd been hit by a truck.

XXXXXX

Jeff felt like he'd been hit by a truck. The woman was _tiny_ , but her eyes were the biggest and bluest he'd ever seen – he felt like he was falling headfirst into them and was just waiting to drown.

"Call me Annie," she said softly as Jeff took her hand. _Ohmigod that smile,_ Jeff thought, struggling to shake off the feeling he'd seen her somewhere before. _It feels like I've been waiting my entire life for someone to smile at me like that._

"Call me Jeff," he said as, acting on a crazy impulse, he raised her hand to his lips and softly kissed her on the knuckles. "Milady."

"I hope your courtroom routine isn't this corny, counsellor." Annie's eyes were shining with amusement.

XXXXXX

END OF PART 1 - to be continued in "The Road Goes Ever On"


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